HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 137.9% during the first quarter, acquiring over 1 million shares and owning a total of approximately 1.76 million shares valued at $123.9 million.
• LyondellBasell reported earnings of $0.62 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.25, with revenues of $7.66 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing a substantial 10.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 711.69%.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 137.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,760,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,020,169 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.55% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $123,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 70,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,932,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 18,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LYB. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.9%

LYB stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.39. 4,033,108 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,782,667. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.33, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.04. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $47.55 and a fifty-two week high of $99.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.70.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 711.69%.

LyondellBasell Industries Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.